Darwin by Evolv Initial Impressions

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Para

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Here's my AFS3 on my Darwin using a regular 510-901 adapter

darwinafs.jpg


....it was then when I realized I had to order lower nic levels for my favorite ejuices. lol
 

clyde2801

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A couple of questions for you, parallex2. That uses a 901 connection on the bottom tank, but a 510 connection to hook up the atty, right? It'll take 510's? Are there any leaks with the AFS3? Will it vape in the vertical position, or do you need a 510 to 510 extender/adapter?

It looks like Imeo redid his juice tank/collection tan design of the AVS into the AFS3. Hmm....

Thanks for sharing with us.
 

Para

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A couple of questions for you, parallex2. That uses a 901 connection on the bottom tank, but a 510 connection to hook up the atty, right? It'll take 510's? Are there any leaks with the AFS3? Will it vape in the vertical position, or do you need a 510 to 510 extender/adapter?

It looks like Imeo redid his juice tank/collection tan design of the AVS into the AFS3. Hmm....

Thanks for sharing with us.

Right...510 to 901 adapter. I've got 2 AFS3's. One works flawlessly and just recently the other started leaking at the control ring. Not much, but when I lay it down flat for a few hours I get a couple of drops on the outside. Maybe needs cleaning, but will wait until it's empty and then disassemble and clean
 

clyde2801

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Right...510 to 901 adapter. I've got 2 AFS3's. One works flawlessly and just recently the other started leaking at the control ring. Not much, but when I lay it down flat for a few hours I get a couple of drops on the outside. Maybe needs cleaning, but will wait until it's empty and then disassemble and clean

What kind of attys are you using on it? Love the 510's, but I'm wondering if my v2 with the HV 901 is 'good enough'.

What kind of battery life are you getting out of the Darwin now? After the first couple of days, I went from the magical never ending power source described by some early reviews to something more akin to a true 1800 mah battery. Better life than my AW IMR 18650s with the same mah rating, and no comparison with any other HV combo I've ever tried.
 

Para

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I use LR's....1.5 to 2. Battery life/charge on Darwin is like all the others; it depends on the user. Some folks suck on a PV all day while others a bit here and a bit there. I'd put my vaping somewhere in the middle.

I never keep up with charging, but my best guess would be hooking it up a couple of times a week.
 

clyde2801

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My friend Sterno was generous to give me a couple of HV 801's and a 510 to 801 adapter that he had fallen out of love with for me to try out on the Darwin.

The first one is an easmall which measures 4.3ohms at 8.5 watts. The Darwin is wanting to give her 6.3 volts.

I'm not an 801 expert, though it is the first PV I've ever tried when my friend Joel late me take a toke or two off of his penstyle 801 in November of 2009. But I'm hoping that a HV 801 will give me a good dripping solution to the Darwin; ie. that the size of the atty will allow me to sufficiently juice her up less frequently than the 510 and still provide me with a little more TH than the 901 on the AVS. The 801 looks good on it, and at least it will be easier to fill will out spillage due to the 801's wider diameter.

I'll report back on usage and battery life towards the end of the day.

I must have been hitting this thing a lot. It looks like the activation button isn't flush...the bottom appears to be pushed in a bit.
 

ukeman

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I am having some issues... I'll just start with today since I know the specifics, although this has been coming on for a couple days now.

Unit was charged up yesterday afternoon, used some last night and left unplugged with arm down....

1. With arm down, LED is still showing data, but not lit up of course (that's just when firing as per normal).
2. This morning, LED still showing data with arm down, but showing what looks like a batt symbol in circle, with cross (diagonal line) sort of indicating no power or batt source?
Also shows empty batt.

Upon lifting arm, still shows above data #2.
But upon firing it all changes back to normal data.

I too seem to get about same batt usage as an IMR 18650.

Unit seems a tad warm on usage...


Anybody getting these issues?
 

NebulaBrot

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My friend Sterno was generous to give me a couple of HV 801's and a 510 to 801 adapter that he had fallen out of love with for me to try out on the Darwin.

The first one is an easmall which measures 4.3ohms at 8.5 watts. The Darwin is wanting to give her 6.3 volts.

I'm not an 801 expert, though it is the first PV I've ever tried when my friend Joel late me take a toke or two off of his penstyle 801 in November of 2009. But I'm hoping that a HV 801 will give me a good dripping solution to the Darwin; ie. that the size of the atty will allow me to sufficiently juice her up less frequently than the 510 and still provide me with a little more TH than the 901 on the AVS. The 801 looks good on it, and at least it will be easier to fill will out spillage due to the 801's wider diameter.

I'll report back on usage and battery life towards the end of the day.

I must have been hitting this thing a lot. It looks like the activation button isn't flush...the bottom appears to be pushed in a bit.

I use the 801 series almost exclusively. I might disagree (in part) with "the size of the atty will allow me to sufficiently juice her up less frequently". Having used 801 series for the latter half (at least) of my vaping experience, I have less experience with 510, etc. But, my recollection with 510 was 3 drops per drip round (although I have read some drip 4 drops in 510s). I drip 4 drops into 801 series. So, if that 3 drops per round for 510 is accurate, then your supposition is correct to the tune of one drop/round. however, Darwin provides more vapor and therefore uses more juice (at least this is my experience using darwin vs all my other devices - same attys).

Due to the tendency for more airy draw on 801 series attys, I do not use 801 drip tips as the hole is so large that it makes the draw even more airy - at least to my taste. I use the native 801 series hard/shiny plastic whistle-tips and drip straight thru them with these: 1/2 OZ BOTTLE W/NEEDLE TIP These are great for dripping thru any drip tip too and with a bit of practice, you can drip without even looking (great for lower light situations). Most of my juices are higher VG content but the ALL VG that are not thinned (like Bobas) can be too thick for the thin needle.

For me, the 302 gives best flavor of all the 801 series - IF the draw is "right". Finding the best adapter is sort of key yet not the only solution. Unfortunately, vendors rarely know much/anything about their adapters. Most seem to think an adapter is an adapter (and that only the connections vary). If you want to read more on my adapter comparison: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...dapters-w-pics-airflow-attys-little-help.html

Kaji posted the following alternative approach:
For a simple draw tightening on 510/306 attys, you can use a 5mm inside diameter o-ring (you can use a 6mm but it will restrict the airflow completely if you push it down all the way). Slide the o-ring over your atty and push it all the way down to the catch cup till it sits just above the air vents. Then just slowly lower one side of the o-ring at a time (covering one air inlet at a time) until the desired airflow is achieved. The only down side is that you have a much smaller juice trough and will be more prone to flooding over the cup if you aren't mindful of your atty feeding.

For 801s with the adapter, since the air inlets are positioned facing downward, put the o-ring on the adapter, then slide it up toward the atty then do the same thing as the 510/306, slide one side up at a time until the restriction allows for the desired draw. I found that 6mm inside diameter o-rings work best with the 801s.

Simple, cheap and reversible draw adjustment.

Edit: If you are in a hurry to do this and don't want to order FDA approved o-rings online :) , most auto parts stores carry metric o-rings in 5mm and 6mm, just rinse them in dish washing liquid prior to using them.
I have not tried this but I have found him pretty accurate on other issues.

Finally, for 801s, I do not see the need for using HV version (any series) on Darwin unless you just happen to already have them. I find regular 801 series (3.0 to 3.3 ohms) work just as well. Darwin adjust the volts so unless you are finding atty "personality" differences between the HV version and the regular versions, I see no reason to specifically shop for the HV Ohms to use on Darwin (unless, of course, you also want them for using with other unregulated 6V+ devices).

1. With arm down, LED is still showing data, but not lit up of course (that's just when firing as per normal).
2. This morning, LED still showing data with arm down, but showing what looks like a batt symbol in circle, with cross (diagonal line) sort of indicating no power or batt source?
Also shows empty batt.

Upon lifting arm, still shows above data #2.
But upon firing it all changes back to normal data.

I too seem to get about same batt usage as an IMR 18650.

Unit seems a tad warm on usage...
Can only offer you two things to consider. Keep in mind tho - I don't have a production unit yet - still using the same prototype I wrote about (so I do not yet have the final production on/off switch). 1) I do not know if closing the atty all the way (to click and screen off) and re-opening does any sort of re-boot but I have, on rare occasion, found a screen glitch (which I have attributed to the weaker connection in the prototype on/off switch). I have found that closing the atty to full off and then back on clears that rare screen glitch.

I have seen people posting about leaving the atty "up" for whatever reasons. While I do not see how this could be a problem, I can say that I have been using this prototype every day since it arrived and I have never leaked any juice. I close the atty all the time (pretty much whenever I put it down). I carry it in my pockets too. So far, not a single drip in pockets, on counter, etc. But, I do not see this as a function of Darwin or any device. I just know that if I drip, I have a certain approx number of hits worth of liquid juice and I vape it (or most of it) before putting it down. Especially with Darwin, this is rarely more than 5 or 6 hits - to at least get down to a point where there is zero chance of any seeping out of the atty. As ALL of my other devices have the standard vertical oriented connection (with device standing or in pocket), and the downward facing air holes of the 801 series attys, any excess juice in an atty is likely to leak out those airholes. I simply got into the practice of vaping out a feed and this has served well with all devices.

2) I have many VV devices and have always noticed some warming in the devices due to the heat sync. Most, if not all, dissipate the excess voltage as heat. I have been pleasantly surprised that I rarely notice the Darwin feeling warm - and I can heat up a device multi-hitting like a pipe smoker. I would suggest you continue to monitor yours on these issues and if they persist, consider contacting Drew. As with any electronics, occasionally a glitch can be missed in testing (and, from what I am told, Darwins are extensively tested). So, while no one ever wants to have to rely on the warranty - every electronics products is bound to have occasional issues or there would be no need for warranties. At least know you are completely covered.
 

ukeman

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i used to be accused of being a hypochondriac to get out of school (elementary years)... heheh...

but have since grown up... :)

in this case I hate to think it's got issues.. but it is warm even when not used and unplugged.

I'll take it on a short road trip today just to see how the batt holds up.
 

Jackinkc

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Just got mine tonight. Sweet Jesus, this thing is amazing. I am currently vaping BWB Peach Tobacco with a Cisco LR 1.5 atty. Watts are set at 9.0 and the atty reading is 3.8 and the ohms are reading right at 1.5. It's pretty cool how it tell you all of this at the push of a button. The taste and TH are both out of this world.
 

BigBopper

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OK, so I got mine back from Evolv today. When I received it, it was marred and scratched, so sent it in under their warranty. I am very impressed by them. I left a note on their contact page, and within a couple hours I had a response from Kat, on a Saturday even. I sent it to them Saturday morning, and even with a postal mixup on the way there, and the way back, I got it back in 5 days. Brandon even gave me a call when he dropped it off at the post office to let me know that it was on the way. Very respectable of him to do that. Now I can really start to enjoy this.
 

ukeman

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i fully charged my Darwin tonight on the USB for about 5 hours... it was more than half charged to begin with.

I just took it off the USB and took a vape and closed the arm.... the LED actually went off! yay!

Going to bed... Interested to see if the previously reported symbol shows up in the morning.
 

markimar

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OK, so I got mine back from Evolv today. When I received it, it was marred and scratched, so sent it in under their warranty. I am very impressed by them. I left a note on their contact page, and within a couple hours I had a response from Kat, on a Saturday even. I sent it to them Saturday morning, and even with a postal mixup on the way there, and the way back, I got it back in 5 days. Brandon even gave me a call when he dropped it off at the post office to let me know that it was on the way. Very respectable of him to do that. Now I can really start to enjoy this.

That's great customer service 5 days is fast turn around! Impressive.
 
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